socks across america

birthday

2009-07-21T17:20:00.000-07:00

i am sorry it has been so long since i have posted. as is evident by these words being a link (seemingly unrepairable)...my computer has been acting a bit quirky... as has the internet connection around these parts. but i wanted to get a few photos up. chris and i went to the beach for my birthday. it was absolutely beautiful.

our picnic lunch :)the view moses... and parting the red seas.

our picnic spot

so that is that. hopefully soon i shall have time to post a few more photos. my friends hannah and dave came a few weeks ago ... which was absolutely lovely!... and i have been planting and planting in the green house.... which has been exciting. it feels good for the soul.

i hope all is well on the east coast. although the pacific is absolutely incredible.... i cannot pretend. i have found my true heart really belongs to the atlantic. so it goes...
with love.
me

mercury IS in retrograde

2009-05-17T17:51:00.000-07:00

after reading kate's blog, i realized - again- how very much life has been feeling a bit tilted lately. i too greatly messed up in the greenhouse this week. And the whole week seemed to feel a bit off-kilter. today i finally felt like i got some of my balance back... hopefully the week shall follow. until then... some more time playing with a filtered lens:

our new neighbors

the hoop house gate
lazy days with bits of grass

a hike, getting lost on a mountain, trees underwater, and pigs

2009-05-08T19:27:00.000-07:00

these are all pictures from the past week or so. as i am waiting for the shower to open up... i thought i would share a couple more photos.

applegate lake:

The farm bridge:Some new additions to the farm... (our composters) :

feet: (mine, applegate lake)

she is almost full

2009-05-07T20:35:00.000-07:00

it is a thursday evening. and i am feeling somewhat meditative this evening... and somewhat as though i wish i had a friendly voice to hear over a telephone line, or across a cup of tea, or a presence of a lovely female by my side. life has been good here. but tonight sitting in this big compfy chair wrapped in blankets, my mind wanders. it was a strange day here at the farm. Every bodies energy was low (accept for mine... an unusual first). and i feel spoiled in what i am experiencing here. spoiled in the inspiration it is giving me for how i ultimately want my life to look. For the first time i feel like my life is taking on a direction, while the people around me are suffering with that (all too familiar) feeling of no direction, or too many possibilities of direction. i feel as though all i want to do is farm. with my entire body and soul. there is absolutely nothing i can complain about. sure the days can be long.... sure sometimes m y body hurts... or i feel like i will never complete a task... but all in all... i have never felt... while on a farm... that i cannot get through a day... or that i need to run outside for some fresh air. I am already there... already in the field... already where my imagination would take me in any other realm if i were trying to escape. life feels just good i suppose.

i took these pictures last week. chris let me borrow his really great zoom lens accompanied with filter. It is the first time i have ever taken pictures with a filter attached to the lens.... i fell instantly in love with the process. it gives all of the following photos... what i deem to be somewhat of a warm glow... what others may describe as simply orange.

this one is our newly painted cabin from the back (thankyou chris)

and then the rest are shots from about the farm .

these two... if ever i were to name my photographs... i would call "The Organ":

they are of apart of a piece of old farming equiptment that lies absorbing history in a field. I am overwhelmed by the intricacies of its parts. I am determined that it is able to make music.

it has been lovely to be able to photograph again... to have the time to go out and walk about and take things in. i think perhaps it is how i best process places... how i make them my home.

the moon is waxing.

beauti

2009-04-19T19:22:00.001-07:00

i took myself for a beautiful hike the other evening after work... just as the sun was setting. Blue Fox backs up to state forest land and there are these little horse trails, deer trails, and logging trails that tempt you deeper and deeper into the woods... until as i found... you are on top of a mountain. It was such a beautiful day... and felt sacred in its silence and alone time. here are some more pictures:

...and now for this sunday... i say goodnight

maggie's visit

2009-04-19T19:02:00.001-07:00

last week maggie reid came to visit chris and i. It was lovely to see a familiar face from home... and have some one familiar in our new space. She and Chris were able to spend some of the days going on hikes and wine tours. And then, last sunday we all went to the sea. This time we were able to spot some of the california coast as we headed up route 101 along the shore, and then went up to Gold beach, which was highly recommended by all. It was a lovely day. A lot of rain, a lot of seals, and good company. Thanks for coming maggie :)

babies being born

2009-04-19T18:43:00.000-07:00

my apologies for being absent from the blogosphere. the weeks seem to have been flying by at immense speed... and time found for sitting and sharing pictures feels very rare. but i shall try in the next few minutes ( as chris is making pad thai on the shared stove)... to atleast upload some new pictures of our new lives. Starting: the new baby goats that have been born here in the past two weeks. I never knew goats could be such a delightful addition to life, but so they are. and here they are:

home

2009-04-07T16:53:00.001-07:00

our little cabin in the woods before: After: :)

goodbyes to another home

2009-03-29T16:30:00.001-07:00

So. it has been a quite a few days since i have re-visited these pages. I don't know if perhaps chris and i have just gotten so used to the swing of things around here... settled in our ways of waking up late and drinking coffee until 4.00 (ahhh the life of the unemployed)... or if there has actually been quite a lot more going on around here ... perhaps a combination of both? in any case the weeks seem to have flown by... and tomorrow we will be transferring our lives once again to to the very small cabin in the very small valley of applegate. I am excited to be moving into the realms of a life of true simplicity.... while also quite nervous. it has been a long couple of weeks trying to decide what needs to come, what needs to be bought... what could have stayed in pennsylvania.... but which is now with us on our backs... or in the car :) but now... as i look at another living room filled with stuff (although not entirely packed which i am very intentionally avoiding in these moments) life feels ready again to move on. It feels like we are making the right step. Chris has a couple of job options on the horizon, we will learn, we will be fed and housed for atleast the next 8 months (which is truly a luxury in our economic times).

(and then the packing resumed...)
it is now a week later. I am sitting on what used to be our bedroom floor in corvallis. Chris and i have returned to pick up the last of our stuff... drums and banjos and coffee mugs and things. It is strange to be back here after spending some nights in the little cabin in the woods (pictures to come). There has been so much i have been wanting to write about, post about. Jeannie and Dan were here visiting... thank you guys so much!it was soooo wonderful to have friendly familiar faces, Jasper has been to visit, there have been more trips to the sea, and now a new life started in applegate. I suppose i am just someone who needs time to adjust. meditation before reflection.... and the time for meditation has not been at hand quite yet.... thus the lack of reflection.... thus the lack of blogs. So i apologize for my out of touchness with all of you whom i love in these past couple of weeks. hopefully - after tomorrow - things will fall into their place... fall into their pace. I am excited about embarking on this adventure. The people at the farm feel so good to me... and our cabin feels like quite a quaint little home. There was a new baby goat born yesterday.... and good spanglish conversation at dinner. and i am learning .. learning again. and that feels ever so wonderful. my mind feels awake again with yearning for questions unknown... and answers unfound. i feel hopeful in this new world.
So the pictures are soon to come! :)
and as a mark of detail and technicalities... christopher does not have cell phone service... so for all of ye who would like to contact him.... give my phone a call.
so i love you all. and hopefully time will present itself to return again into the blogosphere :)

a walk in the woods

2009-03-29T16:03:00.000-07:00

I HAVE A JOB :) :) :)

2009-03-17T12:20:00.001-07:00

i just got a call this morning that i have a job! :) i am so excited to actually get back to work and start moving again. It has been wonderful spending the days reading and playing the banjo and learning the drums and late nights of card playing.... but i am also quite ready to re-enter the world of the employed! sooo here goes. yet another adventure. For those of you who want to check it out... its called blue fox farms. I had an interview with Chris- the farmer- last wednesday.... and it seems like they are doing wonderful things. He and his wife seem like the best of people. I am so excited to finally have a job and it feel so right. Here's the sight:
http://bluefoxorganics.com

Oregon Coast

2009-03-16T20:30:00.000-07:00

A well needed venture to the sea last weekend... brought the following pictures:

the death of the mermaids....

a sculpture on the shore made of recycled materials

photo burps

2009-03-09T19:34:00.000-07:00

sorry all the pictures are out of line... i had them sooo nice and pretty for all of you but when i posted it was a lost cause :( hope you get the idea.

Oregon/ home

2009-03-09T18:17:00.000-07:00

The Last Leg

Our first views of Oregon

NW 8th St

so... i know that a lot of these pictures are not the cleanest. I did entertain the thought of cleaning the house... so all you wonderful people would have a picture perfect view of what it looks like here... but i also realized that then you would all know i cleaned anyway (cause lets be honest i don't love cleaning) ... and lets be more honest: i didn't feel like cleaning. So just know- if any body comes to visist... be rest assured it will be cleaner than in these pictures... but until then... this is our new home :)

the living roomDay one: move in(before) after

the kitchen
kitchen (looking into the dining room)

the dining room

our first meal... spaghetti and meatballs.

the dining room now :) it has really good light! its my favorite room.

this is christopher's Buddha that we had stored in my can of espresso for the journey. Opening it up felt somehow transcendental? just beautiful in a very strange goofy way :)

our new bed! which took forever to find.

thank you ikea.

and our one "walk in" closet.

Chris with his new drum kit in the attic.So there it is ... and there lies the beginning of the ending of this journey. Sorry it took me so long to get the photographs of our house up... time seems to be slipping away quite fast. So on wednesday i have an interview at a farm in applegate (which is in vineyard country) ... so if all goes well on that front... we may only be in our new little home for another month. But thus far it has been serving us quite well :) Thanks for joining us on the trip. I miss you all here. Life is much quieter without friends and famliy around the corner.... or even in the next state :).... but somehow life seems to be going -right now- just as it is meant to. I am just curious as to exactly where that is.

Le Voyage Dans La Lune

2009-03-08T22:25:00.000-07:00

i bought a book today - which was incredible called "Hugo Cabret" by Brian Selznivk. It is a beautiful written book/picture book, with lovely line drawings that make you feel as though you are reading a sketchbook. The entire book captured my imagination. A centerpiece to the book ( i am trying not to give the book away) was this film by Georges Melies. It captivated me. The quote in the book is "He [Georges Melies] was among the first to demonstrate that film didn't have to reflect real life. He quickly realized that film had the power to capture dreams"So read the book and watch the movie. At the very least it will make you smile :)

"If you've ever wondered where your dreams come from when you go to sleep at night, just look around. This is where they are made".

I love you all.
[this is the only one i could get downloaded... if you want talking as well go to http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=681138103275355387&ei=tay0ScSAApbUqAOapNX2Aw&q=georges+melies

Flagstaff - Hoover Dam- Las Vegas

2009-03-06T20:07:00.000-08:00

These are the inside features of our really cute hotel that we stayed in, in flagstaff. It was down town with "old west" decor. We treated ourselves for the one evening.... so we weren't in another motel or hostel. I know i wrote about it earlier... so i wanted to show some pictures of it. It felt like such an oasis at the time.

our view from the motel

our lives... captured accidentally. this was the day we were blogging in flagstaff in the coffee shop. These were our essentials when we left the car. The Lonely Planet, Ny Times, and a computer chord :).. our gifts of knowledge... so to speak.

THE HOOVER DAM this is of a bridge they are in the process of building across the dam. It was really cool to see two sides of a bridge reaching from either side... waiting to touch in the middle.

Las Vegas

these are the night views from our circus circus hotel room :) It was the nicest place we stayed the whole trip for only 35 bucks

morning views

And now - finally- onto Oregon

The Grand Canyon

2009-03-06T12:24:00.000-08:00

and then we reached the grand canyon... which i know is one of the seven wonders... and is supposed to be absolutely magnificent... and overwhelming. All of which it absolutely was... but it also was somewhat dissapointing. I think for myself the size was so massive that it was too hard for my brain to comprehend. I am reading an Annie Dilliard book right now, "For the Time Being", in which she discusses the irony of how when one person dies it is a tragedy, and when 1,000 people die it becomes a statistic. How our brains and bodies can comprehend a certain amount of empathy, apathy, emotion... but once it gets to a certain point... we can do nothing but objectify it. That is how i felt about the grand canyon.... i could recognize the fact that it was beautiful... that i should be moved by it. But at the same time, i was not moved. The canyons in New Mexico spoke much more to my soul. The Grand Canyon felt objectified. It cost 25 bucks to get in an see those views... and once you got in there were paved paths everywhere you went. I am sure I would have felt much differently if I could have hiked down ( there was too much snow when we were there). But i am very glad that i got to see it. And it made for some great photo ops :)

The Painted Desert

2009-03-06T12:06:00.000-08:00

On the road from the Catwalk to Flagstaff.... we stopped on the road in the painted desert [our first stop in Arizona]. We pulled in 15 minutes before the park was about to close... which made it a very quick drive through... but also made it absolutely free. Not bad. I don't really know how much saying there is to say about this part. It is one of the moments on our trip that can really only be read in pictures.
Apart of the Painted Desert is the petrified forest. There are the remnants of crystalized trees strewn about the desert... from what chris and i could understand- to be a result of volcanic activity.... somehow the lava did not burn the trees but preserved them. It was like walking through the Ice Queen's territory in Narnia.... The trees has been turned to stone. Frozen in time.

The road to flagstaff............................................................................................................ flat.

The Catwalk

2009-03-06T11:15:00.000-08:00

After leaving the Hot springs we drove about 45 minutes north to a trail called the catwalk, which i had seen advertised in the ny times before we left and was curious about. It was much more 'tourist-friendly' than the hot springs trail... but absolutely incredible in its own way. They have built the trail so that it weaves along the inside wall of a canyon formed by a small river/ big stream. The rocks were sooo smooth, and had been sculpted in these beautiful natural formations by the water alone. Most of the pictures below are from Chris's eye.... i will not lie... he has a much better eye for rocks than I :)

apologies

2009-03-02T14:46:00.000-08:00

Sorry guys.
I've been sitting in this coffee shop now for a couple of hours and the photos don't seem to be uploading. I think Chris and I are going to try to get internet at out house soon. So i shall try again. Sorry!! I love you all :)

More Gila

2009-03-02T13:19:00.000-08:00

Okay guys! So we finally got the internet here in Corvallis... and it is working wonders! So i can finally impart to you all the left over pics from our trip... and then we shall get back to Oregon. Sorry this has all been a bit messy... but i think the time and resources to complete are finally here :)

So after we left the area of the 'cliff dwellings' and wall painintgs we finished up our hike down by the water.... by exploring the rocks... Chris and I believe we expertly found the rocks used to create the painintings in the last 'picture' blog. They were a soft red stone ( perhaps a deviation of sandstone?) that were all over the place.

and tasty tooo!!!!!!!!!!! :)

After we finished our hike, we headed back to Silver City, for our second evening in the motel there. The drive from almost anywhere in Gila to anywhere sleepable was about two hours. So, by the time we returned back to base it was dark.... and dinner time.

This is Chris in our motel room cooking. We opened all the doors and windows in the place for better ventilation. It turned out to be a pretty mediocre meal of dried tortellini in ragu sauce.... but it was fun to cook! none-the-less. The next morning we woke up early (?) to hike to the hot springs that were recommended to us by a bunch of different people. The picture above is the trail head. It was a pretty much unmarked trail going through the middle of wilderness. Neither of us had any idea how long it was or what it would look. We ran into aboslutely nothing we expected. :) (sorry about the underlining.... my computer is acting kinda funny... won't let me turn it off up there)

the hikeviews from the hikethis is the very small 'river' where the hot srpings were fresh water crest on the shoreline

the hot springs!!! They were sincerely just very hot and very muddy springs coming out of the bottom of the bed... like very small jets. Other people have designated the place of them by laying out rocks... making it easier for the ignorant (like us) to find them. They were really hot! and felt really wonderful after the hike. We soaked for about half an hour.... and then were on the trail again. I must admit... that sitting in the middle of a river without a soul in sight and the silence that pervaded... was both liberating and beautiful all at once.

Toph.... after the hot springs.

these were the cacti all up and down the trail... that i found absilutely fascinating. They were gorgeous. And really prickly.

i couldn't get over these colors. I thought some of you artists out there would be inspired by the diversity of shades and colors. (throat clear sound... hannah). And i thought even for you un-artist or undercover artists... they were just incredible!!

home.

2009-03-02T12:31:00.001-08:00

Here I am. Sitting in an open space- warehouse-ish coffee shop called "the beanery" in downtown corvallis. The sun is shining. It is the first day it has truly shined since we have been here. And my skin and soul are welcoming it. Things have been going quite well since we have been here. The town is lovely. Everything is in walking distance from our new house. and the people are truly the nicest i have ever met. Everyone smiles here. It makes you realize the strange truth to the east coast 'superiority' complex. People are just people here and happy to be so. We have been able to purchase all of our furniture -besides a bed- at the numerous thrift stores around town. So we now have furniture to welcome any visitors that happen to stop upon our doorstep :) The coffee is good as is the beer from the local brewries. And life feels right.
The first day we were here Chris was saying how nice it would be to have a "welcome wagon"- just someone to atleast fill us in on a good place to eat... good place to get groceries etc. [Although Corvallis is by no means big there is definately a sense of overwhemlingness... being in a completely new place with not a soul to ask simple questions too]. Yesterday I was sitting out on the front stoop... taking the sunday as what it is meant to be... a day to read the paper all day :) - and our welcome wagon came.
Our neighbor across the street- Joanna came over to "welcome us to the neighborhood", and had a bag of home-made chocolate chip cookies in hand to boot. She stood talking to us for awhile: getting us up to date on the neighborhood's ins and outs: where to get cheap groceries, where to get a good meal, a good pint, and how glad she was to see people in our house. It was delightful. Good to have a familiar face... and quite nice to have -in reality- a very unexpected welcome wagon come right to our door.
So life truly does feel good. It feels as though we finally have a home. Which feels so good after being on the road for two weeks. We've built a nice set of shelves in the living room: thanks to Reid's Orchard crates, and Chris's pick-up of two huge sony speakers from one of our thrift store shops for only 15 bucks. We have a nice sunny kitchen table to sit at in the morning and drink coffee ... and a compfy cozy armchair to cuddle up and read in at night. The only problem now... is figuring out what we are doing here. What comes in between all those little luxuries. So we shall see. As i keep saying to chris, and quoting to myself and to everyone else who has been asking.... is the wisdom of my sister Kate. Who, is as all those who know her know- a firm believer in all things happening for a reason. According to her logic- which over the years i have developed a great faith in- because everything thus far has worked...without much trouble at all - and against all odds... where we are... where i am is right. And therefore... SOMETHING shall happen. We shall see :) But i feel like after a weekend of some-what rest... i finally feel like I have the energy and excitement again to explore into what that something may be.

So enough about all this... I know most of you are just waiting to see more pictures. I forgot to bring my camera to the coffee shop so all pictures of the house and the end of our trip shall have to wait. But for now i can atleast finish up New Mexico. Travels back in time:

Gila: hike after cave dwellings

2009-02-24T22:58:00.000-08:00

Once Chris and I left the dwellings we stopped at a small trail which had tons of very visible history. This is where we came across the last cave picture shown in the last post, and lots of beautiful paintings. And then we just hiked, enjoying the landscape, and the first tangible water supply... for what seemed like a very long time.

this is one of Chris's photographs. the grass on the strip of bank we were on were making these beautiful patterns

Chris and I

GILA: Cave dwellings

2009-02-24T21:31:00.000-08:00

So now we come to my favorite part of the trip :) Gila National forest .... which I have consistently been pronouncing Geela... but which Chris (just as consistenly keeps reminding me) is actually Heela. This is a national forest in New Mexico, which has the largest, most diverse landscapes and history (at least in my mind), that I have ever witnessed. The silence in Gila was unlike anything I have ever witnessed... completely inpenetrable. It was the first time, I have ever felt myself in the wilderness, and felt somewhat wary of the possibilities of what may surround me. My imagination of bears, wolves, bobcats, cougars, coyotes... and the thousand of other unknowns felt so close. It was the first time I have ever been in a place where I felt as though i was trespassing on nature's territory. I so wish my photographs could have captured some of the immense ammount of beauty I found there. The only words i feel could make anysense was that Gila was haunting but in the most beautiful way imaginable.

The drive on the way to the "cliff dwellings" [ our first daylight views of Gila].

a cactus flower

chris with a cactus and the views

rock outcropping

the signs on the way up! ... seeming both amusing and yet also not very far fetched :)

our first glimmer of a cave on the hike up to the "dwellings". They can trace these "dwellings" back until around 890 B.C. [ "the dwellings' are in quotes because they are not actually dwellings: refer to christopher's blog for further info]

if you look in the far left cave... you will see the structure of a hand built stone wall... attributed to the mogollon tribe.

the t-shape in this picture is an original doorway attributed to the Anasazi tribe: the conflicting Native American tribal signature pieces of the cave are what have contributed to the confusion of its' uses over the years.cave number 3the upper view from cave number three... looking into one of the smaller chambersthe inner view from cave three. This cave was huge.... and had absolutely incredible acoustics!Chris looking out of cave three one of the few remaining cave paintings.

i really enjoyed this series. me on the climb down from cave threea really big tree. this was a cave that was about a mile away from the 'tourist' cave dwelligns. It was recommended to us by one of the guides. It was hidden away off of a little trail... and was thought to be used as a home... during the time in which the 'cave dwellings' were used as a spiritual center.

christopher.... looking very christopher.

New Mexico

2009-02-23T09:21:00.000-08:00

our first stop in new mexico was a place recommended to us by a delightfully crazy texan who pulled us over at a gas station with "Hello Pennsylvania, Welcome to Texas". And soo with two car windows rolled down he proceeded to give us a recommended itinerary for New Mexico. His first stop was the blue hole as pictured above. It was a beautiful stop (not quite photographable).. .but would be beautiful in the summer. Apparently people go there to scuba dive. It is literally a giant water hole in the middle of the desert with crystal clear waters. Here are our attempts at pictures:

Below is Las Vegas, New Mexico. This, besides flagstaff, has been my favorite town we have stopped in. It was a little pueblo in between Santa Rosa and Santa Fe, that we decided to stop in for lunch... and ended up walking for the majority of the afternoon. They had a lovely bookstore, yarn shop, and the best meal we had eaten up until that point. It reminded me very much of guatemala. Very lovely :)

the drive

On the road from Las Vegas to Santa Fe

Santa Fe:

Our hostel in Santa Fe. (we didn't stay in this part but i still thought it was quite picturesq.... the part we stayed in looked much more like a hostel)

the garage behind our hostel

this was the wind chime that was hanging in the courtyard of the hostel. It was made out of a collander, pipes, bowl and cutting board. quirky and lovely :)

Santa Fe's central plaza

a part of downtown santa fe

me in santa fe

Reid representation in santa fe

as we left santa fe we got lost in a neighborhood surrounding it. And were surrounded by incredible adobe architecture: represented above and below.

Old Town Albuquerque

Christopher's new hat... purchased in Albuquerque, that has hardly come off his head since. I felt he fit in quite nicely with the adopbe decor in this pic.

Somewhere along the road there has been some rattling noises. We think because of the high winds on the open plains of Oklahoma and New Mexico a part of Vincent (the new name for the vibe) came loose. Here chris is expertly fixing it with our roll of magical duck tape. Thank you dad for the roll :) Vincent has been holding in well ever since :)

Chris on the long-haul drive from Albuquerque to Silver City/ Gila National Forest.

flagstaff and backwards

2009-02-19T22:35:00.000-08:00

Ah. So chris and I are finally able to sit down for a few minutes again so that we may continue in our posting fury. We are currently sitting in a lovely little coffee shop in Flagstaff. I have found quite a refuge in flagstaff. I am not sure that it is completely the town itself... or simply the oasis it has provided in a time of needed consistency. We stayed in a hostel the first evening we were here... and last night we decided to live - it up and stay in an actual hotel.. which was almost the same price as the hostel. It was such a lovely space.. with old creaky floors and a sink in the room with shared shower and bath room. It truly felt like a genuine stop on the Oregon trail :)

So i will stop my words for now... so that i can provide you with pictures while chris provides you with words. But know that i am loving you all and missing you. And hopefully the next time i write shall be from our new home in corvallis. Wednesday? we shall see.

Oh and i keep getting emails from people trying to comment but it not working... so i hope i fixed it! and comment away :)

love you!

me

Oklahoma to Tejas

2009-02-19T21:58:00.000-08:00

literally driving into a sunsetElk City, Oklahoma. Their personal oil derrick

historical route 66 the beginning to the couple of following pictures. Chris and I both felt so overwhelmed by the sudden contrast of the Oklahoma/Texas landscape to that of 'the East'. that we pulled over on route 40 to take some pics. (those that follow)..... It is truly 'un-capturable' on film.... atleast with both of our minimal photographic talent. The crevices and slopes of the land were unlike anything i have ever witnessed. Although i am glad we solely passed through oklahoma... the lanscape was anything but boring. I was just informed by Chris that most of these were actually taken in Texas.. but it was literally right across the border line... soooo you get the point.

Proclaimed on the oklahoma sign:"The biggest cross in the Western World".
I must say... i do not dis- believe it. It was made out of pure sheet metal. I thought it was worth the picture. And the sun decided to contribute with the dramatizing effect... so i thanked it.
The night roads from oklahoma to Amarillo, Texas

Amarillo to Santa Rosa. This one was actually taken of the clock radio as Chris was driving. I felt like it visually encompassed that evening perfectly.

Martin Luther King Junior

2009-02-19T21:36:00.000-08:00

I felt like these photographs deserved their own post. Our last stop in Memphis was the Civil Rights Museum. They utilized the 'Lorraine Motel' (the place where King was shot while standing out on his balcony), as the setting for the museum. The museum was an incredible educational experience. They did a wonderfully thorough job of explaining the history and progression of the civil rights movement within our country. The first part of the museum ended in the motel room where King was last alive. The glass doors you see in the photographs were placed so those of us traveling through the museum could easily view the place where he was shot. There were still blood stains on the balcony. There is apart of me that would like to say that the experience of taking part in the 'viewing pleasure' of such an incredible person's death felt exploitative.... instead i have to say i felt that it was so tactfully done... that it felt almost meditative. The juxtaposition of seeing the place where King's life had ended while standing in the midst of a school group of african american children talking loudly- as elementary students do... felt simply real ... and as though... King himself would have been smiling. Yet, after crossing the street and viewing the recently opened details of the murder case and looking out the window where they believe the shooter stood... i felt overwhelmed. I felt so haunted for the rest of the day - and since- by where our country has been in the past... and by where it so often seems to be in the present. The entire experience made me ache for a man i had never met.

more memphis

2009-02-19T21:14:00.000-08:00

Our cabin in the parking lot of the 'Heart break Hotel' in memphis. We didn't get to Graceland... but it was literally right across the street from us. Elvis tunes were pumped into the Rv/cabin lot throughout the evening. It was a great little cabin... probably much warmer not in february.

Our best accidental find thus far: a genuine Memphis style lunch 'cafetaria'. Lunch:

consisted of... chicken sandwiched in fried corn bread with a side of rice and beet greens. Delicious! The Mississippi river. (almost as dirty as everyone describes)... but also quite beautiful.

A sculpture along the mississippi that we stumbled upon. It tells the beautiful story of one man single handedly saving people along the river. I included the engraved description so you could enjoy the story for yourselves.

(reminded me of the sistine chapel)

2009-02-19T20:34:00.000-08:00

Chris with his "Happy Monkey Family" purchase at a

Tibetan shop in Ashville.

( he's very proud of them)
The great smokies as we departed from ashville
(our first mountain pass crossing)

The 'slave quarters' and spring house at andrew jackson's home outside of nashville

chris in an abandoned cotton field

cottonNashvilleThe Ryman theatre: where the 'Grand Old Opry' [an old time radio show] ...for those of you who are as ignorant as I was, beganMemphis!!(my favorite city thus far) This picture was taken on Beale street

The blues band we saw on Beale street....

They were a local band that played incredible music in a -somewhat- dive bar on beale street.

It was a perfect way to hear the blues!

My favorite picture from that evening

Absence

2009-02-19T20:25:00.000-08:00

sorry this has been so long. The internet has been much harder to locate than Chris or I imagined. My first priority right now is going to be to get some pics up so I can share them with all you lovely people. And if there is time i shall try to write.... but until than refer to "Wine for Truth"... Chris's blog.. he will have the words :)

Chris and I in the hostel in Ashville

Hostel boredome

Ashville, North Carolina

2009-02-13T18:17:00.001-08:00

So... today Chris and I began our first leap into the unknown world of Ashville North Carolina. For those of you in Pennsylvania... it is quite similar to a New Hope ... and for those of you familiar with or in New York it is another Ithaca. And for those of your familiar with neither... it is pretty much a town filled with hippies, wine, expensive coffee and lots of art and lots of stuff. So we were able to walk through much of the town this afternoon. We are staying in an absolutely lovely hostel (my first american hostel stay :) ) It has been quite a lovely surprise! We spent most of the afternoon walking through the downtown area.. and at 'Malagados'? coffee house and cafe. It was quite lovely. This evening we were able to try out the new camp stove and make some vegan jumbalaya (they didn't sell real sausage at the local co-op) :( tomorrow we are planning on leaving early for nashville!

pics of ashville:

ashville alley-way

part of a mural that is being created under a bridge downtown

some of the local grafitti:)

a mug: Kate, i really thought you would enjoy this one

these, we found in an old woolworths that has been converted into a local art gallery. They had playable fiddles and ukes made out of cigar boxes and other random materials.

Beautiful! i thought the reid sisters may perhaps enjoy this take on their instruments :)

Pictures

2009-02-13T18:06:00.000-08:00

My mom; with two lives in transit filling her livingroom. Thankyou mom! :)

Neville, Chris, and Caitlin
before we hit the road in D.C

Margie's lovely home

Margaret and her valentines

Margaret and Chris enjoying their ice cream from the local dairy farm

outside of carrboro the sunset as we ate our ice cream. What beautiful skies...

Margaret, Me, and Chris

on the road

2009-02-12T16:16:00.000-08:00

Four days after our intended leave date... with full bellies from the wonderful home cooking of my parents, and alot of patience and love on their part... we are now -finally on the road. and sitting right now in the lovely living room of my oldest and closest childhood friend margaret. After being introduced to the world of roof racks and cross bars...and the complications that seem to coexist with them... we have now succesfully traveled to both Washinton D.C and Carrboro, NC. We were welcomed to a lovely dinner in D.C by Chris's sister Caitlin, and her roomates Dan, Ray, and (temporarily) Neville. Yesterday we were welcomed here in Carborough by Margaret cooking us a lovely dinner of delicious Pizza with goat cheese and pecans... and local North Carolina beer! Today Margie took off from work... and she, Chris and I walked to Chapel Hill, ate some delicious french fries and went to a local dairy farm for fresh ice cream :) Soon dinner preparations shall start.

I am already missing you all. The adventure feels like it has finally started and the 70degree spring weather here in NC, has been a lovely glimmer to spring. Tomorrow we move on to ashville.. with hopefully more pictures to come...

[.. after spending half an hour trying to get pics uploaded... it seems it is not working. so for now the post shall have to do... and i shall see what i can due about photograph sharing in the morrow :) ]

2009-02-04T08:04:00.000-08:00

time is a strange thing... sitting in my sisters living room in baltimore listening to emmy lou harris, as though no time has gone by from when i came here two years ago. but now i am ready for another departure.. ready for another adventure. The house here has always been my place of in-betweens. It has been my place of solitude... of reflection before another great next step. This time i shall be picking and pecking my way across this country of ours. Trying to understand a land that has always seemed much too foreign to me to be my own.

The past couple of years has led me into the realization of the rarity and beauty of good souls. This blog shall be an attempt to not lose those lovely souls I have found. I am not sure what this adventure shall bring... what these pages shall bring. But my hope is that they are able to bridge a distance... and that lives though separate may still be connected.

thankyou all for bearing with my restlessness.. this time i would love to share a bit of my journey with you :)